Ore classifier



Sept. 17, 1935. w. E. ENDREZZE ORE CLASSIFIER Filed July 8, 1927 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Inventor Sept. 17, 1935. w. E. ENDREZZE 2,015,008

ORE CLASSIFIER Filed July 8, 1927 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Inventor Attorney Sept. 7, 1935. w. E. ENDREZZE 2,015,008

ORE CLASSIFIER Filed July 8, 1927 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 in liquid, whether such dilference is caused by carried back with the incoming liquid to the set- 5 55 ranged water and air cells located near the slidable on the member across the outlet end of 55 Patented Sept. 17, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ORE OLASSIFIER William Eugene Endrezze, Butte, Mont.

Application July 8, 1927, Serial No. 204,260

11 Claims. (01. 209-462) The present invention relates to ore classifiers sand delivery end of the trough through which and has for its prime object to provide improveair and clear liquid is forced upwardly through ments in apparatus for separating and classifythe sand as it passes over them, resulting in the ing materials which have different settling rates elimination of the remaining slimes, which are a variation in the specific gravity of the partling bath, very little of such clear liquid being ticles, as in the concentration of ores, or in the allowed to pass out with the sand.

size of the particles when homogeneous, as in I preferably divide the settling trough into two the separation of sands, and slimes. parts, using two sets of rakes operating alternatelO The apparatus disclosed herein is especially dely in opposite directions whereby the weight of signed for classifying the sands and slimes in wet the moving parts is counter balanced, and the crushed'pulp for cyaniding, and for convenience overflow of the liquid into the slime receiving it will be assumed in the following description trough is made more uniform and even.

that the pulp is being treated for that purpose. One of the most important objects of the im- According to the present invention the wet pulp proved structure disclosed herein is to provide 15 from a suitable crusher or pulverizer is contininwardly and upwardly inclined back and side uously conveyed to a settling trough, where the walls for the trough for the prevention'of the sands settle to the bottom by gravity, while the formation of mud banks.

slimes remain in suspension in the liquid. The Another object of the present invention is to slimes flow over into launders which conveys them place the side launders in a convenient and an 20 away to a suitable receptacle removed from the effective position upon the classifier trough for classifier, while the sands are moved upwardly the receiving of the slimes and fines discharged along the inclined bottom of the trough and defromthe trough.

livered to another launder, which conveys them Other objects of the invention are to provide away for further crushing and grinding. For the an apparatus of this nature which is simple in 25 purpose of moving the sands out of the trough, its construction, thoroughly eflicient and reliable rakes or scrapers are reciprocated back and forth in its operation of separating the sands and slimes over the bottom of the trough in such a manand otherwise well adapted to the purpose for ner as to move the sands toward the upper end of which it is designed. the trough on the outstroke, but which are ele- With the above and numerous other objects in 3 vated above the plane of the sand on their inview as will appear as the description proceeds, stroke. This raking operation is effective not the invention resides in certain novel features of only in moving the sand as fast as it settles upon construction, and in the combination and arthe bottom of the trough, but it also serves to rangement of parts as will be hereinafter more loos en or agitate the sand by first forming it into u y bed a d C a med.

small piles and then allowing it to settle, while In the drawings:

at the same time progressively moving it upward Figure 1 is a sectional side elevation of the ape and outward along the inclined bottom of the Daratu embodying the features of y invention.

trough. The rake, while effectively removing the Figure 2 is a top plan view thereof,

sands, do not so agitate the liquid in the upper Figure 3 is a vertical transverse section taken 451 stratum of the bath as to interfere with the setsubstantially on the line 3-3 of Figure l, tling of the sands. The operation results in keep- Figure 4 is a side elevation of the apparatus, ing the slimes in suspension and allowing the Figu 5 s a f a fy P w Of the botsands to settle out. tom of the trough showing the perforated or While the greatest portion of the slimes are screen coveri or e a d wate ells. 45

separated from the sands in this way, there are Figure 6 is a sectional view throu h One Of the still some present in the settled sands which must cells, and r be removed. To accomplish this, I provide means Figure is a p p e View O One Of the rake for washing the settled sands after they emerge plates. from the settling bath and just before their deliV- The wet pulp is conveyed by a feed-launder 5 to 50 cry to the launder which conveys them away. An a settling trough indicated at 6 in Figure 1. A important object of the invention lies in an imspout structure I leads from opening 8 in the feedproved structure for accomplishing this purpose launder 5 to the settling trough 6 and has a cross which includes a plurality of alternately armember 9 mounted therein with a valve plate l0 the spout structure I to spread the feed in'a thin layer or streamand cause the flow to be continuousfromthefeedspreaderbox. 'Ihesettling troughlisinclinedasshowninthedrawings. the liquid level being indicated by the line H Suitable supports II, II and it are employed to hold the trough at the desired inclination. Preferably the feed launder I is located about midway'between the center and the lower end of the trough. A launder ii for carrying away the sllmes has side branches II and is located at the lower end of the trough, extending laterally across said trough at the lower end and longitudinally along the sides thereof for a distance slightly behind the feed launder I. The bottom of the portions II are inclined toward the main portion II which has an outlet pipe I. depending therefrom. A launder II for carrying'oif the sands is located at the upper end of the trough. Preferably the trough is divided into two parts by a partition ll whichis high 'enough merely to prevent sands from spreading from one part or division of the trough to the other. In each division of the trough is located a rake or scraper indicated generally by the letters B. Each rake R comprises longitudinal bars ll and a series of transverse plates II attached to the bars in any suitable way. The rake bars are supported by hangers I2 and 23, standards llrlse fromthesidesof thetroughbetween the mid portion thereof and the upper end thereof and support blocks 26 in which is mounted a shaft 21 having a pair of bellcranks 2| rockable thereon, one for each of the divisions of the trough. Links 28 are pivotally engaged as at II -with the upper ends on the shorter arms on the 'bellcranks levers and have lateral cams Ii engaged by the hooked upper ends of hangers II. A gear casing 32 is mounted on the partition I. and has mounted therein a drive gear a meshing with a relatively large gear 34 fixed to a shaft II -ing upwardly through links 20 on the hangers 23.

Rods ll are pivotally engaged with the lower extremities of the bellcranks 2| as at 42 and are p vo al y e gaged with cranks 43. A shaft II is Journaled in standards 46 on the sides of the trough and the cranks 43 are attached thereto and depend downwardly therefrom. Cranks 41 are attached to the shaft 45 and are pivotally engaged as at 48 with members ll on a rail 49' supported by standards It. Cranks 50 project from the shafts 45 and are pivotally engaged with links I i These links ii are pivotally engaged on hangers 22. It will thus be seen by referring to Figure 1 that to one side of the rake mechanism that as the gear 33 driven in any suitable manner as is -indicated at 33' in Figure 2, rotates in a clockwise direction the gear is driven in a counterclockwise direction and the rake is moved upwardly from the incline of the trough until the cam 38 actuates the bellcrank 28 through the roller ll to swing said bellcrank in a counterclockwise direction causing the rear end of the rake to be lifted through link 29 and hanger 23 and to cause the forward end of the rake to be lifted through link ll, crank 48, crank 50 and II and at the same time the rod 38 moves the rake forwardly,thatis,towardthelowermdofthe inclineofthetrough.

-ure2tha'ttherakesoperatealternately,thatls.

whileoneismovinguptheinclmatheotherh s movingdcwnwardlyoftheincline.

tion to build a mud bank upon the particles that 80- areheldinsuspensionatthelowerendofthe trough have no chance to form overhanging mud- .banks bystickingtothelowerendwallandthe adjacent side wall as the angle produced by an overhangingmudbankistakenupintheslantss of these wall sections and therefore any tendency to form an overhanging mud bank is done away with in this manner.

For the purpose of cleaning the settled sands after their emergence from the liquid and Just before their delivery to the launder I1, I provide a series of cells 02 and 83 alternately arranged as isclearlyindicatedinl'llurcl. Theoells "are air cells and have pipes 04 leading thereto and the cells a are water cells and have supply pipes l! leading thereto. These cells are open at their tops registering with an opening" in the bottom of the trough or tank structure and are covered by 'foraminous sheet material It such as screen wire, canvas, or the like. A clear cyanide solution may be used in place of the water. The

liquid and air are forced upwardly through the sands and said sands will be elevated slightly and agitated, while the contained slimes are separated and flow back into the bath.

It will be observed that the settled sand is in motion only half the time, but is exposed to the action of the upward flow of liquid and air from the cells 62 and 63 both while in motion and also while at rest, thus giving the liquid and air amso ple opportunity to keep the settled sand loose and open to allow the escape of the slime. 'lhis action of the upward current through the settled sands has been found to be very efficient in the separation of the slimesfrom the sand. The inas ward movement of the rakes causes an agitation of the particles in suspension in the lower stratum of the bath and thus tends to free the settled particles of sand from the adhering slime and keep the latter in suspension. In this manner perfecta 1y clean leachable sands are obtained, while the slimes are entirely free from sand.

From the above detailed description it will be. seen that this improved classifier is compact, requiring but little space and necessitating little 76 attendance, no matter how much the ore may vary in its nature and both clean sand and clean slimes are made in one operation. The sand is delivered particularly free from liquid. In the foregoing description I have referred to the rapidly settling particles as sands and to the slowly settling particles as "slimes, but it will be understood by those skilled in this art that the apparatus may be employed to classify materials not ordinarily thus designated and I wish it understood that both in the specification and in the claims I do not wish to be confined to an apparatus for separating sands and slimes.

It is thought that the construction, operation and advantages of this invention will now be clearly understood by'those skilled in this art without a more detailed description thereof. The

present embodiment of the apparatus has been disclosed in detail merely by way of example since in actual practice it attains the features of advantage enumerated as desirable in the statement of the invention and the above description. It will be apparent that changes in the details of construction, and in the combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed or sacrificing any of its advantages.

Having thus described my invention, 'what I claim as new is:

1. An a paratus for separating and classifying materials of difierent settling rates, comprising a stationary inclined settling trough with a lower end wall and adjacent side walls the lower end wall being inclined at an acute angle to the bottom of the trough in front of the vertical and the adjacent portions of the side walls being inclined upwardly and inwardly to prevent the formation of mud banks on either of said walls, and means for conveying the settled material toward the upper end of the trough, said conveying means having a portion thereof positioned with the walls disposed in overhanging relation with respect thereto.

2. An apparatus for separating andclassifying material of different settling rates comprising an inclined stationary settling trough with a lower end wall and side walls, the lower end wall being inclined at an acute angle to the bottom of the trough in front of the vertical and the adjacent portions of the side walls being inclined upwardly and inwardly to prevent the formation of mud banks; means below the liquid level of the bath for conveying the settled material toward the upper end of the trough and disposed "partially with the walls in overhanging relation with respect thereto, and means for operating said conveyor.

3. As a new article of manufacture, a stationary inclined settling trough for an apparatus for classifying crushed ores having an inclined bottom,

side and end walls rising therefrom, the lower end wall being inclined .at an acute angle to the bottom of the trough in front of the vertical.

4. As a new article of manufacture, an inclined stationary settling trough for an apparatus for classifying crushed ores having an inclined bottom, and lower end and side walls rising therefrom, the lower end wall being inclined at an acute angle to the bottom of the trough in front of the vertical and the adjacent portions of the side walls being inclined upwardly and inwardly of the trough, for the prevention of the formation ofthe mud banks.

5. An apparatus for settling and classifying material of different settling rates comprising an inclined stationary settling trough, the lower end wall being inclined upwardly and inwardly at an acute angle to the bottom of the trough infront of the vertical and the adjacent portion of the side walls being inclined upwardly and inwardly to prevent the formation of mud banks, means below the liquid level of the bath for conveying the settled material step by step toward the upper end of the trough and disposed partially with the wall in overhanging relation with respect thereto, and means for operating said conveyor.

6. An apparatus for classifying crushed ores comprising a settling trough having a conveyor operating therein to remove the settled sand therefrom, said settling trough when set in position for operation having means for the prevention of mud banks at the lower end wall thereof, said lower end wall inclining inwardly and upwardly at an acute angle to the bottom of the trough in front of the vertical and with respect to the conveying'means and said end wall further having its upper edge constituting a weir over which the slime from the trough may flow.

7. An apparatus for classifying crushed ores comprising a settling trough having a conveyor operating therein for removing the settled sand therefrom, said settling trough having means including a lower end wall and side walls for the prevention of mud banks the lower end wall being inclined at an acute angle to the bottom of the trough in front of. the vertical, and the side walls inclining inwardly and upwardly and with respect to the conveying means and said side walls further being exposed in overhanging relation with respect to said conveying means and having their upper edges constituting weirs over which slimes from the trough are adapted to flow.

8. An apparatus for classifying crushed ores or sands, comprising a stationary inclined settling 40 trough in which the sand settles by gravity while the slimes remain in suspension, means for conveying the sand from the trough at the upper end thereof, and means for preventing the formation of mud banks in the lower end of the settling trough comprising a lower end wall inclined at an acute angle to the bottom of. the tank in front of the vertical, and side walls similarly inclined, said inclined walls being disposed in overhanging relation with respect to the portion of the conveying means arranged at the lower end of the trough.

9. An apparatus for separating and classifying materials of different settling rates, comprising a stationary inclined settling trough having a lower end wall inclined inwardly and upwardly at an acute angle to the bottom of the trough in front of the vertical and side walls inclined upwardly and inwardly at the portion thereof adjacent said end wall and adapted to prevent the formation of mud banks on either of said walls, '60 and a launder structure about the upper edges of said inclined walls forming an overflow trough for the lower end of the settling trough, said launder being disposed outwardly of the trough with the adjacent walls of the trough forming the inner walls of the launder, said launder having its outer walls disposed in a vertical plane with the bottom edges of the settling trough.

10. An apparatus for separating and classifying materials of different settling rates, comprising a stationary inclined settling trough having a lower end wall inclined upwardly and inwardly at an acute angle to the bottom of the trough in front of the vertical, and side walls inclined upwardly and inwardly at the portion thereof adjacent said end wall and adapted to prevent the iormation or mud banks on either of said walls. and a launder structure about the upper edges of said inclined walls torming an overflow trough (or the lower end or. the settling trough, said launder being disposed outwardly of the settling trough with the adjacent walls of the trough iorming the inner walls or the launder, said launder having its outer walls disposed substantially in a vertical plane with the bottom edges of the trough, said launder in overhanging position to the conveying means.

11. An apparatus including conveying means for separating and classifying material of different settling rates, comprising a stationary inclined settling trough with a lower end wall inclined upwardly and inwardly at an acute angle tothebottomotthetroughinirontoithevertieal, and a launder structure about the upper edge or said inclined wall forming an overflow trough for the lower end of the settling trough, said launder being disposed outwardly of the settling trough and in overhanging relation to the con- 10 veying means.

WILLIAM IUGINI INDREZI. 

